1951's 'Miners Forty Niners' could have gone either way of cute and amusing or corny and over-cutesy. Especially considering the premise that will be to some people's tastes and not appeal at all to others and that Famous Studios have gone either way throughout their whole filmography. Also that the whole Screen Song series from Famous Studios has been very mixed in this regard, with all the cartoons falling in either extreme or with elements of both.
'Miners Forty Niners' has elements of the former but is mostly in the latter category. It for me is one of the average ones and somewhere around low middle when ranking the cartoons making up the Screen Song series. In some cartoons, the second half is better than the first and in others it is vice versa. 'Miners Forty Niners' is in the latter category, and while there aren't any outdated stereotypes or any tasteless moments or anything along those lines it is a pretty undistinguished if watchable effort.
The animation in 'Miners Forty Niners' is good. Especially the vibrant colours and equally loved the background detail where a lot of care went into it, the setting looks handsome yet has grit too. The incidental music is even better, very lushly orchestrated and full of character rhythmically.
A few of the gags are amusing early on and there are moments of tension. The story is nothing exceptional at all, but there is some nice energy thankfully, with the first half not feeling tired here and certainly not suffering from stereotypes or distaste. The characters may be thin but are nicely done.
Much of the story however, when there is any which is only vaguely present in the first half, is bland and does nothing new with over-familiar territory. Other jokes are very corny and the predictability is blatant.
While the first half is fun, the singalong portion feels like a different cartoon and not in a particularly good way. It is dull and too cute, and while the title song is a catchy one it does get annoying within the cartoon and feels repetitive. One has to be in a good mood to bear it.
Bottom line, watchable cartoon but pretty average. 5/10.
'Miners Forty Niners' has elements of the former but is mostly in the latter category. It for me is one of the average ones and somewhere around low middle when ranking the cartoons making up the Screen Song series. In some cartoons, the second half is better than the first and in others it is vice versa. 'Miners Forty Niners' is in the latter category, and while there aren't any outdated stereotypes or any tasteless moments or anything along those lines it is a pretty undistinguished if watchable effort.
The animation in 'Miners Forty Niners' is good. Especially the vibrant colours and equally loved the background detail where a lot of care went into it, the setting looks handsome yet has grit too. The incidental music is even better, very lushly orchestrated and full of character rhythmically.
A few of the gags are amusing early on and there are moments of tension. The story is nothing exceptional at all, but there is some nice energy thankfully, with the first half not feeling tired here and certainly not suffering from stereotypes or distaste. The characters may be thin but are nicely done.
Much of the story however, when there is any which is only vaguely present in the first half, is bland and does nothing new with over-familiar territory. Other jokes are very corny and the predictability is blatant.
While the first half is fun, the singalong portion feels like a different cartoon and not in a particularly good way. It is dull and too cute, and while the title song is a catchy one it does get annoying within the cartoon and feels repetitive. One has to be in a good mood to bear it.
Bottom line, watchable cartoon but pretty average. 5/10.
